This magnificent white church, located in the central square of ancient Yaroslavl, is an outstanding monument of the Yaroslavl school of architecture and painting of the 17th century, having preserved almost entirely its original appearance. The Church of Elijah the Prophet in Yaroslavl, distinguished by its rare beauty, has long attracted the attention of lovers and connoisseurs of antiquities, artists, scholars, and tourists.

Interest in it is due not only to its central location in modern Yaroslavl but also to the history of its construction in the 1647-1650s with funds from wealthy and prominent Yaroslavl merchants, brothers Voniфatiy and Ioannikiya Skripinykh. These merchants, engaged in the trade of furs, church utensils, and precious stones, supplied goods for the royal and patriarchal courts and were personally acquainted with the first Romanovs, Tsars Mikhail Fyodorovich and Alexander Mikhailovich.

The church was built on the Skripin estate, which was then located in the center of the Earthen City, on the bustling Proboynaya Street, near a vast trading square. Two wooden churches also stood here: a cold one in the name of the Prophet Elijah and a warm one of the Protection of the Mother of God. Only after the street layout of Yaroslavl was changed in the late 18th century did the Ilyinskaya church find itself in an open square for viewing, first Ilyinskaya and then Soviet.